María José Zaldívar

María José Zaldívar Larraín
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare
In office
2019–2021
PresidentSebastián Piñera
Chief Executive Officer of the Teletón Foundation
Assumed office
November 2024
Personal details
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Chile
OccupationLawyer, politician

María José Zaldívar Larraín (born 16 September 1975) is a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in the second government of Sebastián Piñera.[1][2][3][4][5]

Zaldívar holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and previously served as Superintendent of Social Security and as General Manager of the Social Security Research, Studies and Development Corporation.[6]

She later became Chile’s Minister of Labour and Social Security in 2019. She also served as president of the Chilean Supermarket Association and as a board member of the ChileMujeres Foundation.[6]

She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Teletón Foundation since November 2024.[7]

Zaldívar was included in Forbes Chile’s list of the "50 Most Influential Women in Chile in 2025".[6]

References

  1. ^ "Gob.cl - Ministerio del Trabajo y Previsión Social". Gobierno de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  2. ^ "María José Zaldívar Larraín | Subdere". subdere.gov.cl. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  3. ^ "Zaldívar Larraín, María José". derecho.uc.cl. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  4. ^ Chile, C. N. N. "CNN Chile". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  5. ^ "Ministra del Trabajo por protección al empleo: "No es efectivo que el Estado vaya a estar poniendo más recursos a la administradora de cesantía, lo que se acordó fue pagarle los costos de operación"". duna.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  6. ^ a b c "Las 50 mujeres más poderosas de Chile en 2025. María José Zaldívar" [The 50 most powerful women in Chile in 2025. María José Zaldívar]. Forbes Chile (in Spanish). Forbes Chile. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  7. ^ Catalina Vicuña (2025-06-21). "María José Zaldívar: "Teletón es el ejemplo de cómo a todos nos gustaría que las fundaciones se comportaran"" [María José Zaldívar: "Teletón is an example of how we would all like foundations to behave"]. Diario Financiero (in Spanish). Diario Financiero. Retrieved 2026-01-09.